With only 4 days until I fly to Cuba I spent half the day exploring Vienna and the other half buying things, researching and preparing for my Cuban adventure.
On this trip I have met some amazing people, including professional photographers photographing the Albanian Blood Feuds, Photographer duos expiring the remote Montenegro villages for travel magazines, Architecture photographers and Stock photographers. Its great meeting other people who enjoy taking photos as much as I do. However my favourite photographer to meet is always the hobby, enthusiast, beginner or the traveler who has always wanted to get started in photography but never taken the plunge past the iPhone or iPad.
Even though I am only a hobby, enthusiast photographer myself I have given photography tips and advice to so many people over the past 182 days so thought I would share a few tips on doing a travelling photography project like this.
1. You don’t need the most expensive lens or camera to take decent photos.
2. You don’t need to know every detail about photography or what exactly an aperture or shutter speed is to take good photos.
3. Always look behind you. this one pops into my head every now and then, and usually when I do turn around I spot something interesting I would have missed otherwise (like todays photo at the Schonbrunn Palace).
4. Scope out photo locations and best positions on google images, wikitravel, atlas obscure or from postcards and photo books that are out the front of every souvenir store.
5. ditch the tripod, get yourself a good Gorillapod and a ballhead, its smaller, lighter, more portable, more versatile and able to be used as a video stabiliser (upside down, and loosen the bullhead a little). It can also be bent into the shape of a gun for bluffing your way through for all those dodgy dark back alleys without being stabbed.
6. Get a good camera bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag. I use a National Geographic bag that is awesome. It fits everything I need perfectly including my laptop and even important travel items such as Passports and some clothes for smaller trips.
7. Ditch the “Please steal me” Canon/Nikon strap and get a Peak Design Leash strap. Its cheap, comfortable and the attachment point system lets you do much more than just using it as a normal strap.
8. Don’t worry too much about your camera getting a little wet, dirty, or scratched, they’re pretty durable. Mine now has a cracked screen, two buttons don’t work anymore, the bottom of the eyepiece is broken and has gotten wet from the rain more than once, but she’s still going strong.
9. Also don’t worry too much about your gear getting stolen or lost. Use common sense and lock it up when you aren’t using it. Let travel insurance deal with it if something happens after that.
10. Learn to use Adobe Lightroom, not Adobe Photoshop.
